Consumer Reports likes the Elantra Touring, just not as much as the Jetta wagon Options

[cobas]

Buried in this article about how bad CR thinks the new Insight is is the fact that the Elantra Touring came a close second in their comparison of small wagons. "...the Volkswagen Jetta Wagon and the Hyundai Elantra Touring, which scored 80 and 79 points, respectively." Sorry, actually the Touring was further down the list, with the Rabbit S and Mazda 3 closer to the top.

"The Elantra Touring wagon is fairly roomy and versatile, with a nicely finished interior and lots of amenities for the money. The Touring's ride is noticeably stiffer than the sedan's ride, with some sharp impacts. The Elantra Touring wagon, ($19,475, MSRP as tested), is powered by a 138-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers average performance and a respectable 26-mpg overall. The four-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and responsively. Braking is Excellent. Folding down the 60/40 seatback makes for a fairly commodious load volume."

It's "Recommended," by Consumer Reports. They also tested the Kia Soul but this article just says it's "Very Good," but not recommended because it's brand-new and has no reliability history.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/30/i-consu...anks-it-21-out/

[MalibuJack]

The fact that they stuck a recommended on the Touring and not on the Soul is kinda funny since BOTH CARS are brand new to the NA market.

It never ceases to amaze me how VW makes its way to the top of the list in comparisons (just like the Accord and the BMW 3 series), but yet, the reliability over the long term is still quite shakey. You would think that VW would make more of an honest effort to improve on long term reliability. I mean they are 3/4 of the way there in terms of attention already...

In the end though it really is nice to see Hyundai making waves in the marketplace.

[cobas]

It is a little strange that CR recommends the Touring given it's new. Just because it's an "Elantra," doesn't mean it shares a lot of its components with the older sedan. It's a new chasis, new interior, new suspension I believe... only the powertrain is basically the same. Sure the i30 has been around for a year now in Europe and other places but I'm not sure CR takes that into account?

[sciphi]

CR is full of it. They don't know a good car if it hit them jaywalking.

[cobas]

I want to like them, the non-profit, not-manufacturer-supported, we-buy-our-own-test-products thing.... and yet why do they do things like "Recommend," the Elantra Touring and not the Kia Soul?

[sciphi]

They're going off the name, not the mechanicals.

They also have their own institutional biases. It's a bit of a shock to have a Kia be a good car after so many years of being the butt of jokes.

[natesi]

Yeah, VWs are not very reliable cars. Even the peeps on vwvortex recognize there's usually something wrong with their car at any given moment, but that they still love them despite that. And that, I can respect. But reliable?? Definitely not.